No it's not Lowe, but it's not bad

He's not super-durable like Derek Lowe, or better than league-average like Derek Lowe, but for one year at $2.25 million I'm happy the Mets got Tim Redding. Giving him the ball every fifth day would not be tantamount to conceding the division to the Phillies. Heck, before the All-Star break last year he was looking downright useful, and there was a time not so long ago when a guy like that would be demanding multiple years at much more than $2 million per.

Still, he's not good. His absolute ceiling is a #4-type starter. We need one more good pitcher to make Pelfrey our #4 and make Redding/Niese/Parnell/whoever compete for the 5th/spot positions.

One more reason to get Derek Lowe: the Mets have to play the Braves 18 times a season, and the Bravos have already signed Javier Vazquez, who has become badly underrated (did you know he struck out 200 last year?). So, if they added Lowe their rotation would be Hudson-Vazquez-Lowe-Jurrjens-Campillo. Yes, the Philles would have to deal with it, too, but the Wild Card, God forbid, is not adjusted for strength of schedule.